The Legend of Spyro: The Dark Reich
by Arclight-Zero
Summary: A summary here would be too long so I'd let the story do all the talking. Basically, the Nazis have invaded Dragon Realms and the Allies must form an alliance with the Realms' inhabitants to drive the Nazis out. But they must hurry because the Nazis have something that could potentially destroy what Spyro and Cynder fought so hard to save. Contains references to Wolfenstein games.


[Opening Song: _We'll Meet Again_ by Vera Lynn]

* * *

_**Operation Overlord, D-Day**_

_**6**__**th**__** June 1944 A.D.**_

_**Omaha Beach, Normandy, France**_

Rough seas and a hearty meal before battle was a terrible combination for Private Alan Jackson. It was bad enough that the Higgins boat was rocking in rough seas but other soldiers vomiting onto the deck was the last straw for the suffering private. Alan, like many of his companions, made the messy deck messier with stomach content. It was a miserable moment and he had weakened himself before combat had even started. He could barely stand straight, let alone look straight. A strong wave knocked against the boat and to prevent himself from slipping on the mixture of seawater and vomit, Alan held onto the side of the boat.

"Mum always said that eating before a boat ride was bad. Glad I listened to her," the soldier in front of Alan said.

No one else said a word. Alan looked around and saw fear in their eyes. Some held their crosses and rosaries, mouthing silent prayers and kissing them at the end. Others chewed on bubblegum rigorously as if to dispel their fears but shivering hands and rigid stances were dead giveaways of pre-battle fears. Alan held onto his M1 Garand rifle with a tight grip, his mouth saying a prayer to the Lord. From a young age, he was never a devout Catholic like the rest of his family and hardly said prayers but this day, he found himself reciting the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary in rapid succession. The silver cross that he wore around his neck hung out from his uniform and swayed wildly as the boat hit another wave.

"Hey Alan," his friend Jacob Riley called out from his left. Alan stopped his prayers to look at his friend. "Do you think it's true?" he asked.

"What's true?" Alan asked in return, not understanding what Jacob was trying to ask.

"That the Nazis have magic-powered weapons and dragon for infantry?" Jacob clarified. "I heard rumours of entire divisions getting wiped out by dragons."

Alan shook his head. "You're talking about Monte Cassino? I thought we won there."

"We did but at high costs. They want us to think everything is okay even with high casualties but there's something strange about the battle. My cousin participated in the battle and he claimed dragons attacked the Allied forces."

"I heard rumours of dragons too but I think it's a whole lot of bullshit," Alan remarked with a wry smile. "I mean, where in the world would the Nazis find dragons to train for battle?"

"I think they have a portal to another world with dragons," Jacob said nonchalantly.

It was such an outrageous statement that Jacob got stares not only from Alan but from those who heard him say it, the platoon captain included. The captain frowned and shook his head in disbelief.

"You've been reading one too many fairytales, son," the captain said. "If there's one real dragon in this world, that'll be me and I'll have that sorry ass of yours fried if you don't stop talking nonsense. I think your cousin's suffering from shock. He's seeing things."

"With all due respect, sir, I know my cousin to be an honest person. He'd never lie."

"That's a different matter, private. Whether a person is honest or not, they'll act differently when in shock. I suggest not taking his word seriously, especially when you have no evidence of the existence of dragons."

An artillery shell exploding near their boat cut short their conversation and the captain frowned. Drops of seawater splattered onto the soldiers and it seemed to wake them up to reality. Alan saw Jacob's grip tighten on his Browning Automatic Rifle, not noticing that his grip on his rifle was just as tight to the point where his knuckles started turning white.

"Clear the ramp, thirty seconds! God be with you all!" the boat driver shouted while at the same time, a nearby Higgins boat was struck by an artillery shell. The explosion threw some debris into Alan's boat with wood and metal striking the helmets of soldiers like a shower. The occupants of the other boat were either blown to pieces or thrown out of it, their death screams as clear as the squeal of pigs in the slaughterhouse. The soldiers were all about to go to the German slaughterhouse with bullets and artillery shells in place of knives and hooks.

"Port side stick, starboard side stick, move fast and clear those murder holes," the captain said quickly.

The captain's close friend, Sergeant Hartman, quickly added a few additional instructions. "I wanna see plenty of beach between men. Five men is a juicy opportunity, one man's a waste of ammo."

The captain nodded in a stoic manner and said, "Keep the sand out of your weapons, keep those actions clear". He paused for a second before concluding with "I'll see you on the beach".

Alan counted the time in his mind, wondering what was in store for him and the rest of the soldiers attacking Omaha Beach. He was nestled near the back of the boat and he can't help but feel sorry for the soldiers in the front. The boats engines slowed down and the chattering between soldiers quickly died down. From the corner of his eye, Alan saw Jacob wrinkling his nose and readying his weapon. The plastic cover that covered his BAR was removed and was now on the deck of the boat, the opaque plastic sullied by vomit and left with boot marks after some of the soldiers stepped on it. Alan's rifle was still in its protective plastic cover and he decided against opening it early so it wouldn't get wet and malfunction.

"Captain, I think I see something in the skies," one soldier whispered, his voice unusually clear amidst the sounds of exploding shells and splashing water.

The rest of the troops turned to look upwards but the captain was quick to dissuade them from staring. "Keep your eyes straight, men. What you saw was just a plane."

Everyone knew the captain was lying because what they saw in the skies were large shadows with wings and they were circling around like a flock of hungry vultures waiting for a meal. The captain knew it too but he did not allow himself to get distracted. Alan and a few other soldiers looked up once more. The dragons were still circling and made no signs of swooping down on them. Not yet anyway. If they did though, Alan doubted there was anything in their current arsenal that could shoot them down. Questions floated in his mind and nobody had any good answers.

As the boat slowed to nearly a halt, the boat driver blew his whistle and the ramp operator started turning a wheel to lower the boat's ramp. Alan took a deep breath and coughed a bit. His body was still feeling a bit weak but he forced himself to stand upright. As soon as the ramps were lowered, bullets immediately started flying. The soldiers in the front were struck down in a hail of gunfire and the shots passed right through them and hit the soldiers that were standing behind them. Blood and pieces of flesh flew in all directions and the bodies of dead soldiers began piling up in the front, making an exit impossible.

"Over the sides!" the captain shouted.

The soldiers began to climb up the sides of the Higgins boat and dropping into the water. Some of the unfortunate soldiers struck their heads on the submerged hedgehogs, rendering them unconscious and drowning. Others were shot as they tried to swim to safety while a few drowned, weighed down by their equipment. Alan was fortunate enough to escape from harm but a bullet scratched his arm and it bled as a result. The MG42s were relentless and whoever was out in the open was quickly mowed down. Artillery shells pockmarked the beach with craters and threw the soldiers in all directions. Limbs separated from their bodies and some got blown up so badly that the lower halves of their bodies were missing.

Alan saw his captain hiding behind a hedgehog nearby and issuing orders to the troops that were near to him. Sergeant Hartman was hiding one hedgehog away and he was busy getting some of the soldiers to move. Alan looked down at his rifle and realised that it was still within the plastic cover. He tore it open and held the M1 in his hands like a baby before making a run for the hedgehog that the captain was hiding behind. One of the gunners caught sight of Alan but before he could fire at him, Alan dove behind the hedgehog.

"Captain Hamilton, what now?!" Alan shouted just as a couple of bullet bounced off the hedgehog with loud pinging sounds.

"Move up the beach to the shingles. We have to move and make room for the second wave," the captain said. "Sergeant, clear the beach now!"

"You heard the captain!" Sergeant Hartman cried out. "Get your asses moving now! Forward! Fernandez, Locklear, you're with me!"

The troops made a run for the shingles near the end of the beach. Many of the soldiers were mowed down by machine gun fire and blown up by more artillery shells but still they pushed ahead. A run from the sea to the shingles wasn't that far but with so many whizzing bullets and exploding shells, a short run was no different from running through hell. Alan tried to make his movements as erratic as possible by zigzagging left and right so that the machine gunners couldn't get a proper aim on him. It worked and bullets intended for him struck the sand instead. He was glad to see Hamilton, Hartman, and a few other friends make it to the shingles. While they were mostly safe from gunshots, the soldiers were in for a surprise that they did not expect.

Amidst the cacophony of explosions and gunfire, a loud horn sounded. It sounded so loud that the sand seemed to shake and the sound reverberated throughout the beach. The machine guns stopped firing and artillery shells ceased. Silence reigned over Omaha Beach and it unnerved the American soldiers. There were whispers among the soldiers and many looked up at the skies. The silhouette of the dragons flying among the clouds disappeared and a distant terrifying roar could be heard coming from the skies above. Alan was confused and so were the other soldiers. He turned to look at Captain Hamilton and Alan saw a deep frown on his face. Hamilton was the first to aim his weapon at the skies and the rest of the soldiers were quick to follow.

"Dragon!" Hartman shouted when three winged beasts swooped down from the clouds like eagles.

The embattled soldiers opened fire at the incoming dragons. While most of their shots found their targets, the bullets didn't seem to affect the dragons. Bullets seem to bounce off their impervious scales while a layer of thick silver metal that protected their abdomens. The dragons were well-armoured and they weren't afraid of the combined gunfire. Several soldiers that were carrying bazookas fired rockets at them but the reptiles rolled sideways to avoid the incoming projectiles. When they got close enough to the soldiers, the dragons opened their mouths. The soldiers knew what was about to happen.

"Disperse! Get away from here!" Hamilton shouted.

The soldiers didn't need telling twice and they ran helter-skelter back towards the direction of the sea. To their surprise, only the red dragon breathed fire but the other two, the green and aqua blue dragon, breathed something else. The blue dragon breathed a gust of air so cold that it froze anyone caught in the blast instantly. The green dragon's breath was a force so powerful that the ground where its breath struck cracked open like a fault line and shattered soldiers into pieces. Perhaps what Jacob's cousin said was true. If the dragons were at the Battle of Monte Cassino, they could even be behind other operations too. The question now is: how are they going to win the war?

While Alan was running back towards the sea, a blast erupted behind him and threw him high into the air. He fell back onto the sand with a loud thud and managed to let out a soft gasp before going unconscious.

* * *

_Gentlemen, we have new intelligence coming from the Kreisau Circle in Berlin. What you're about to hear is highly classified and you will not share this with anyone, including your own family. In 1942, the Nazis arranged an expedition to the Atlantic Ocean with a group of people consisting of members of the SS Paranormal Division and SS Special Weapons Division. According to the Kreisau Circle report, the Nazis were looking for the lost city of Atlantis. As much as I'd like to think that Atlantis belongs in stories, the sunken city is just as real as our mother-in-laws. They have found a device there that allowed them to travel to another dimension. The report does not specify the name of that dimension but I believe it's where the dragons are from. Nazi scientists have successfully replicated the device and there's now a functioning copy located in the ruins of Isenstadt. They're using it as a method of sending troops to and from the other dimension. Fortunately for us, one of the Kreisau Circle agents successfully stole the blueprints and it's now in our possession. Due to an increasingly dire situation in Europe, our scientists can only create an imperfect replica which functions only as a one-way device. You're all gathered here because you have been selected for Operation Apocalypse. It will the most important operation to date because you all will be transported to the other dimension to disrupt and stop the Nazis from recruiting more dragons for combat and researching on more wonder weapons. Civilians will be involved in this operation to provide long-term sustainability. All your basic necessities, weapons, and vehicles will be manufactured there because frankly speaking, there is no turning back until you're done. You'll face many trials and hardships in unfamiliar territory but you're doing it for a good cause. Stop the Nazis and save free world. Godspeed, gentlemen._

- General Dwight D. Eisenhower

31st December 1944

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**The Legend of Spyro: The Dark Reich**

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Prologue: Dragon Realms

_**12 S.E. (1946 A.D.)**_

_**The Swamps, Dragon Realms**_

Rain in the swamps.

It made a gloomy place gloomier than it already was but the darkness and thunder made perfect cover for ambushers hiding among the giant mushrooms. Native predators of the swamps such as the frogweed and bulb spiders used the darkness to cover their movement and the sounds of heavy rainfall covered the sounds of their movements. Only a flash of lightning betrayed their positions but only for a fleeting moment before their silhouettes blended with the darkness again. The rain was particularly heavy that day but life in the swamps went on.

Running through the swamps was the Silver River, the lifeblood of the swamp ecosystem and it was home to several dozen species of marine animals including mudskippers, bloats, water gulpers, and spikeback mud crabs. Instead of trees, a forest of giant mushrooms provided shelter for a variety of land and amphibious creatures. Their large caps covered out most of the sunlight and the forest floor was perpetually dark as a result. Creatures adapted to the eternal darkness created their own light to find their way and the predators that hunt them evolved to see perfectly well in the dark. Death in darkness was a common occurrence in the swamps and it had been so for thousands of years.

The symphony of nature shattered that evening with muffled sounds of gunfire that disturbed the birds, scattering them into the open skies. On the dark mushroom forest floor, a lone hooded cheetah ran for his life. His right hand was holding a Walther P38 pistol while his left hand held onto his upper right arm, blood seeping into his fur and dripping down his hand. Even though he was wounded, the cheetah did not lose momentum and he kept running. He was panting hard and his lungs were on fire but if he stopped, it would be the end of him. Behind the cheetah, several dogs were hot on his heels. He had already shot and killed one of them but his weapon ran out of ammo to finish the other two dogs. They barked incessantly at him, their sharp teeth seemed to gleam during a lightning flash.

Mud and water splashed onto his hood with every step he took. His boots became caked in mud and they made it hard for him to run fast. As the cheetah slid under an arching root and vaulted over a log that was in his way, he heard bullets whizzing past his ears and hitting the stalks of the giant mushrooms. Now, the sounds of barking dogs were joined with the shouts of his pursuers. They spoke in a language he did not understand but there was no time to guess what they were saying. One thing he knew for sure was that they clearly want him dead. He had been attempting to shake them off since he escaped from Warfang but his pursuers stuck to him like eagles homing onto a prey. The cheetah thought it was fitting to call them eagles because the emblem they wore was represented by an eagle and they were just as fierce too.

The cheetah spotted a dead tree by a river bend ahead of him and saw a loose branch hanging low to the ground. As he passed by the tree, he dropped his gun and grabbed the branch. The branch didn't come off but a part of it did. While he was doing that, one of the dogs that got close enough to him leapt at his back but the cheetah saw it coming and he swung a piece of wood at the dog. The force was not enough to kill it but a direct hit to the face knocked it out cold and it fell onto the muddy ground with a splash. The remaining dog continued its pursuit but it began to run out of energy. Its movements slowed and came to a halt next to a dragonfly home. The dog was panting hard and its tongue hung out like a red piece of meat. The cheetah on the other hand had escaped into the darkness of the mushroom forest. By the time his pursuers caught up with the dog, the cheetah had already disappeared like a ghost.

The only thing left behind by him was a scrap of cloth torn from his cloak hanging on the sharp branch of a tree.

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He was still in the swamps but he was far away from harm. The cheetah slowed his pace down and came to a stop in an opening in the mushroom forest. The opening was not empty though. There was a community here, a base surrounded by walls of concrete and guarded by multiple guard towers with searchlights on them. He approached the giant gates of steel and mustered what little strength that remained in him to knock on it. Echoes of his knocks were so loud that it drowned the sound of the rain. Immediately, two guard towers near the gates trained their searchlights on him. The cheetah took a few steps back and shielded his eyes with his bloody left hand. Blood on his fur was still wet and they mixed with the rainwater before dripping onto the ground.

"Open up the doors! It's me, Hunter!" the cheetah shouted. "I got what you asked for!"

Nobody replied him but they gave him an answer by opening the gates. Out came a soldier with a M1 Carbine to greet him with a salute which Hunter promptly returned. Without pausing for a second, Hunter reached into his leather pouch that hung on his belt and took out a glowing piece of purple stone. It was bright enough to illuminate his face and the face of the soldier.

"This is the answer for the general. Let me in so I can explain to him."

"Not until you see a medic first."

"I insist on seeing the general, Private Alan. The sooner I relay the message to him, the better."

"I have orders from the general, Hunter. He said that you are to get a clean bill of health before you see him. It's for your health's sake."

Hunter and Alan stared at each other for a few moments before the cheetah sighed and said, "Fine, bring me to the medic. Get me a cup of hot chocolate and maybe I'll let you in on the details too," he added and put the purple stone into his pouch.

Alan chuckled and said, "It's good to see you're still okay, my friend. Come on in. You're starting to smell like a wet dog. Been chased by a few of them?"

"You have no idea," Hunter responded with a smile.

After the two went past the gates and into the base, the gates closed shut with a resounding bang.

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_A/N: I've been visiting this site for a long time but it's only now that I decided to submit my own stories. I'm fascinated with world history and World War 2 is one of them. I'm also a fan of Wolfenstein games and I thought it would be interesting to see how ideas from Wolfenstein and Spyro can go together. You can find some references to Wolfenstein as well as dialogue from Saving Private Ryan. Anyway, I think I've rambled enough here. If you like this story, give it a review! I know I'm not the best writer around but hey, I do my best. Since this story will involve the French, Russians, and of course Germans, if any of you understand these languages, help me out here. I'd love to make the story a little more interesting by adding some foreign language in it. Also, I may not get some facts correct so feel free to address my mistakes.  
_

_Arclight-Zero signing out!_


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